Chapter 623: Fudge's Scheme
Chapter 623: Fudge's Scheme
Apart from Dumbledore, another individual was also flying into a rage over the article.
Umbridge loathed Rita Skeeter to the core, and after reading the day's issue of the Prophet, she rushed back to the Ministry without even having breakfast.
Without Umbridge, there would be no Defense Against the Dark Arts class today.
However, judging by her teaching style, her presence or absence made little difference. The students would still have to read and copy passages from books, and they actually had more freedom without her there.
During the afternoon class, the classroom was in a state of cheerful chaos due to the absence of their professor. The students were excited as if the Christmas holidays had come early.
What made it even better was that no substitute teacher had arrived, which meant that as long as they didn't leave the classroom, they could do whatever they wanted.
Michael was playing wizard chess with Ryan, and a few Gryffindors had even turned their textbooks into Bludgers and were tossing them around.
Seeing their excitement, if not for the limited space in the classroom that prevented broomstick riding, they would probably have started a full-fledged Quidditch match.
Amidst the lively atmosphere, Kyle focused on his Ancient Runes homework.
The class remained the same as before, with one lesson per week and a hefty amount of homework.
The fifteen-inch article was the easiest part, while the most tedious tasks were the two translation assignments, which involved translating some irrelevant and lengthy documents.
"Kyle, do you think Umbridge will be dismissed?" Connor asked eagerly.
Pausing from writing with his quill, Kyle replied, "Not likely. There's a clear difference between the corridors of Hogwarts and the Ministry, and Fudge must be aware of that.
"Of course, he won't be pleased, but even knowing that this is a baseless accusation, he won't simply ignore it."
"That's a shame," Connor muttered, expressing his dislike for Umbridge.
Since Umbridge had become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor less than a month ago, the subject had surpassed History of Magic to become the most unpopular class at Hogwarts.
After all, in History of Magic, they could catch up on sleep or work on other subjects' homework as long as they didn't make too much noise. But in Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were forced to read passages aloud and copy lengthy nonsense, unable to do anything else.
"Do you think Umbridge will go after Rita Skeeter?" Connor asked further.
"Definitely," Kyle said, "but only if she can find her.
"Rita has written so many infuriating articles. If she didn't have some skills, she would've been beaten to a pulp by now... So, it won't be easy for Umbridge to catch her."
"That's good," Connor said. For the first time, he found Rita Skeeter's articles interesting. No wonder so many people enjoyed reading them, even though they knew she was spouting nonsense.
Before they knew it, the class ended, and everyone reluctantly left the classroom, wishing that time could have moved slower.
"I hope Professor Umbridge won't be back by Wednesday," Michael said longingly.
Their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class was on Wednesday morning.
Unfortunately, Umbridge returned the next day, and the day's issue of the Prophet contained two pieces of unexpected news that no one had anticipated.
Sirius Black's Identity in Question, Ministry to Investigate Further
Ministry Seeks Educational Reform, Dolores Umbridge Appointed as First Inquisitor
These two announcements stirred up a buzz of discussion in the Great Hall.
"Inquisitor?" Michael read the newspaper in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"It means the Ministry wants to meddle in Hogwarts' affairs," Kyle explained.
"Obviously, Umbridge will be the one making those decisions," Cedric remarked.
"The Headmaster won't stand for this!" Justin Finch-Fletchley exclaimed loudly.
"It won't matter." Cedric pointed to the last line of the article. "Look, all the governors have signed off on this so-called 'Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two,' so even the Headmaster can't oppose it."
This outcome was somewhat unexpected for Kyle. After the previous article, he had thought that even if Fudge didn't suspect Umbridge, he wouldn't have entrusted her with such a crucial task again.
Yet, here she was, promoted once more.
He wondered what Umbridge had said to Fudge during their entire day together that resulted in her influence at Hogwarts increasing rather than diminishing.
The power to dismiss professors at will was no small matter; it was akin to the authority of the school governors.
Additionally, Kyle noticed another inconspicuous piece of news.
[Stoogy Bode was arrested for illegally breaking into the Ministry of Magic late at night]
If Kyle recalled correctly, Stoogy was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and he had met him at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place during the holidays.
With the addition of Stoogy, this was the second member of the Order to be arrested by the Ministry, the other being Sirius.
Did Fudge know Stoogy's identity? It seemed unlikely... The members of the Order were cautious and wouldn't expose their connection to Dumbledore at such a time.
Moreover, Stoogy had indeed been caught by the night patrol at the Ministry.
Kyle couldn't fathom what Stoogy was doing there in the middle of the night. It seemed like a stroke of bad luck for the Order, as Fudge now had two of their members in custody, with Sirius being the other one who was currently unable to leave the Ministry.
And as for Umbridge's new position as High Inquisitor, it seemed Fudge was preparing to make his move against Dumbledore...
Everyone knew that the professors at Hogwarts supported Dumbledore, and this was indisputable.
The High Inquisitor's role seemed to be specifically targeting the professors.
If that was the case, then Fudge was sorely disappointing. Surely he didn't think that 'Minerva McGonagall,' 'Filius Flitwick,' and 'Pomona Sprout' were famous solely because of their positions as professors at Hogwarts?
Or perhaps their position as Hogwarts professors was the least notable of all their accomplishments.
The idea that Umbridge could take them on by herself was laughable.
Thinking of this, Kyle couldn't help but snort, and the abrupt sound immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Sorry," Kyle said, "I was just thinking about whether Umbridge would replace our History of Magic professor."
"Puh..." Ryan couldn't hold back his laughter either. "If that happens, it would be fantastic."
History of Magic was the only class at Hogwarts taught by a ghost, and it was, to put it mildly, incredibly boring.
The emotionless voice of the ghost as he lectured was like a lullaby, causing more than half of the class to fall asleep each time.
"I doubt the Ministry would be willing to let that happen," Cedric said with a smile. "It would be hard for them to find another professor willing to work for free, unless Umbridge herself wants to take on that role without pay."
"Forget it, we'd rather have the ghost," Justin said. "At least now we have something to watch during class... unless she can walk through walls too."
A burst of laughter immediately filled the Hufflepuff table.
(End of Chapter)
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